Attendance & Punctuality

Latest Attendance News

Attendance Update for Parents and Carers

Firstly, we would like to thank you for your support in improving the attendance and punctuality of your child/children. Over the last twelve months we have noticed a significant improvement in the percentage of pupils attending school and a reduction in the amount of pupils arriving late and we have you to thank for this. Clearly we are delighted with these improvements but there is still much work to do and with your help, we can further improve in this area.

Starting on Monday 27th November 2017, our staff will be challenging the parents of those individuals who turn up to school late. Being in school, on time, is vital as we do not want the children to miss out on vital learning opportunities. We appreciate that, at times, this cannot be avoided but if we are to further improve, we need more children arriving at school at the correct time on a regular basis.

If you require any further information, please speak with Mr Heaton (Headteacher), Mr Leach (Acting Deputy Headteacher) or Mr Doyle (Pastoral Support Officer) who are all willing to help. Further information can also be found in the Attendance Policy which is located on the policies page on the website.

Thank you for your continued support.

Attendance Matters at Florence Melly

At Florence Melly, we aim to ensure that all children receive an education that maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise their full potential. Our target for attendance is 97% and above.

Our school will strive to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the school community feels valued and supported.

School staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.

REMEMBER: EVERY SCHOOL DAY COUNTS!

The main reason children are absent from school is due to illness. Keeping healthy so your child is able to attend school more regularly is an important part of your child’s life. Parents can also help by ensuring their children stay healthy by taking exercise, getting enough sleep and eating a healthy diet.

Good Common Sense

Use good common sense when deciding whether your child needs to stay at home. Work on the basis that sick children belong at home and well children belong in school. Please remember that early morning aches and pains often pass, so don’t keep your child at home ‘just in case’ when they could be learning in class.

Good Attendance

Having a good education will help to give your child the best possible start in life. We believe that children who do not attend school regularly are more likely to:-

Fall behind in their school work

Find it difficult to make and keep friends

Be unhappy at school

Become involved in antisocial behaviour

Setting good attendance patterns from an early age will also help your child later on. Employers want to recruit people who are reliable. So children who have a poor school attendance record may have less chance of getting a good job.

What is Good Attendance?

The Government’s target for school attendance is 97% and above. This is also the target for Florence Melly. You may think that 90% attendance is good however imagine….

Kaitlyn is in Year 1 and her attendance is 90%.

This means that Kaitlyn is absent from school the equivalent of one half day every week.

At the end of Year 1, that would be the equivalent of 4 whole weeks absent from school.

If Kaitlyn continues to attend for only 90% of the time and in her 6 years in primary school she will miss over half a year of school.

Now do you think 90% attendance good enough?

What can parents do to help?

Ensure your child attends school every day and on time.

If your child is not well enough to attend contact the school on the first day of absence.

Try to make dental and medical appointments outside of school time or at weekends.

Take family holidays during the school holiday.

We are unable to authorise term time holidays.

Try to attend parents evenings and school events.

Talk to your child about school and take an interest in the work that they are doing.

Contact your child’s school immediately if you have any concerns about their progress or welfare.

School Attendance Initiatives:

The minimum level of attendance for this school is 97% attendance and we will keep you updated regularly about progress to this level and how your child’s attendance compares.

Our target is to achieve better than this however because we know that good attendance is the key to successful schooling and we believe our pupils can be amongst the best in the city.

Throughout the school year we monitor absences and punctuality to show us where improvements need to be made. Information on any projects or initiatives that will focus on these areas will be provided in our Home – School bulletin and we ask for your full support.

We offer a whole school initiative, ‘Awesome Attendance’ to encourage all children to attend regularly and to raise the profile of attendance throughout the school.

Key points of The Awesome Attendance project:

Each Class monitors their own attendance on a weekly basis, at the end of the week every child with 100% attendance receives a raffle ticket for a class raffle. The winner of each class raffle is entered into a whole school prize draw.

The results are recorded in the foyer and the classes with the top 3 attendance results are awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals/Certificates.

The class with the most medals at the end of each half term are rewarded with a whole class event.

The school also encourages attendance on a termly basis by awarding individual pupils with 100% attendance gold, silver and bronze certificates. Those children at the end of the year with 100% attendance receive a trophy. The class with the most children in school on time receive the ‘Early Bird’ cup each week.

Individual Persistent Absentee children may also be involved in other incentive programmes throughout the year.

If you need help or support with your child’s attendance please do not hesitate to contact Mr Doyle, our Pastoral Support Officer, on 0151 226 1929.